CSA Week #4

• Lettuce
• Cabbage
• Carrots
• Zucchini
• Kale
• Collards

Some sites only:

• Radishes
• Broccoli
• Green onions

It’s amazing to me that last week’s box note talked about muddy boots and a misty morning, while this week couldn’t be more opposite! The crew got to work early this morning to try to beat some of the heat and harvest the lettuce and bunched greens to get them into the cooler and out of the sun. Some of the vegetables love this heat and will grow before our eyes!

The warm-weather crops like tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, sweet corn and basil will soak up all this warmth and we will hopefully be seeing signs of them in your boxes soon! WGF owner Chris Overbaugh told me today that the first sweet corn planting is already thigh-high! (and he’s a tall guy!) The saying goes that you want your corn to be knee-high by the fourth of July, so we are excited to report your corn is ahead of schedule (although anything can happen and there are so many variables in the farming profession, so please understand that we are merely reporting current happenings on the farm, not promising you will get corn early.)

You will notice that the zucchini is in all shapes and sizes this week. As WGF owner and your CSA manager/choreographer extraordinaire Jabrila Via put it, “The plants went crazy in this heat!” Jabrila also said that the greens harvest was one of the “crispest” she has ever seen in the kale and collard patch. There are beautiful bunches of these tasty greens in your box this week, and if you have any delicious recipes to share we would love to hear from you!

The recipes I found for this week’s boxes are:

Collard Greens, for prosperity from biscuitsandsuch.com

Carrot-Ginger Brown Rice from naturallyella.com

Mama’s Collard Green’s Recipe from mamas-southern-cooking.com

Also,

Tangy Coleslaw 

This recipe is from The Joy of Cooking and is a favorite recipe of one of our crew members, Jennifer Ludwig (She usually omits the scallions, green pepper and watercress), you are all getting a big head o’ cabbage this week and with this hot weather, what could be better than some tangy slaw? Enjoy!

Combine:

• 3/4 to 1 cup mayonnaise   
• 4 scallions, chopped
• 2 teaspoons rice or cider vinegar
• 1/8 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce  
• 1/4 teaspoon salt 
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper     
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar

Place in a large bowl, dress and toss lightly:

• 3 cups shredded cabbage    
•  3 cups shredded watercress or arugula  
•  1 carrot, grated   
•  ¼ to ½ green bell pepper, cut into strips

In other news around the farm, the haying is coming to a close, and we are happy with the quality and amount we harvested this year. The hay crew has been out there braving the heat wave to put up the hay we use to bed down and feed the cows in the winter months.  We really appreciate all their hard work, it is not an easy job, and we are so grateful for their energy, positive attitudes, and strong muscles!

We wanted to put the word out that we still have CSA memberships available! We have found that word of mouth is the best marketing tool for us, so we like to share our marketing dollars with our members and offer $25 off the cost of your share if you send a new member our way. Thank you for helping us share the harvest!

We hope you all stay cool and have a safe and happy Fourth of July weekend!

Enjoy your vegetables!

-Sara